9-11-01

It was a normal Tues. Got 2 kids up, ready, and on the bus to school. Ty was 2, and we had a meeting with a Parents As Teachers educator, to check how my little guy was growing and learning. As I was doing my usual last minute "pick up the house and make it look like we don't live like pigs" routine, the phone rang. My neighbor Terry said "did you hear about the planes crashing into the towers in NYC?". So I turned on the tv. Ty didn't understand but he saw something that looked like one of his big brothers video games and kept saying "cool!!". We had a new puppy that had to go out often. I sat watching the tv all day, kleenex box on the coffee table, disbelief rolling out of my eyes. We put the kids in my room to watch videos that evening. We were glued to the coverage and entered a fog that didn't go away for weeks.

I am a chicken. I haven't watched ANY of the anniversary shows. The thought of it makes me cry. I can so easily go back and feel that day.

No, I won't ever forget.

Everyone is back to school :(

Andrew technically started first.  He’s in college this year.  He’s attending a local community college, this year and maybe next year.  He participated in a program in high school where the state pays his tuition for a minimum grade point avg, min. attendance, and participation in a mentor program at another of the schools in the district.  One of his classes was an “intro to college” kind of class and he took it the week before the rest of classes started.

My big boy, going to his first college class:

The next week, the middle kids started.  Madelyn is a sophomore this year and Tyler is a 7th grader.  They both start much earlier than last year.  I am not a morning person – I think the school district is trying to kill me!

My middle kids:

 

(What a trauma getting this pic!  Too much smiling, not enough smiling, too giggly, not looking at me, just general silliness!)

And then the little kids started the week after that.  They both go mornings, Mon. – Thurs.  Dasha is in the classroom that Jack was in last year and Jack has the teacher he had his first year at school.  They both like going (but are happy to see me when I pick them up – yay!).

This is actually after school, since I wasn’t efficient enough to get one before!  Jack decided to help Miss K clean the classroom, so she provided him a plastic glove which he wore until I made him take it off for lunch!  What a goof ball!!

So things are going okay.  Too stinkin’ early for me, and M has crazy amounts of homework daily, but everyone is adjusting.  (Me – I’m still mourning summer break and waiting for the next one!)